Motorcycle accidents up on 1996

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Britain's roads are as dangerous for motorcyclists as they were 10 years ago despite a sharp fall in overall road accident figures, statistics suggest.

In 2006, 6,484 motorcyclists were killed or seriously injured (KSI) compared with 6,208 in 1996.

Meanwhile, the total number of KSIs involving all motorists fell to 31,845 in 2006 from 48,097 in 1996.

Government figures show the number of accidents of all kinds for all motorists fell from 320,578 to 258,404.

In comparison, the number of accidents of all kinds suffered by motorcyclists rose from 23,133 to 23,326 in the same period.

The increasing number of people switching to motorcycling to beat congestion accounts, in part, for the increase in motorcycle accidents.

There was a reduction in motorcycle KSIs as well as motorcycle accidents of all kind between 2005 and 2006.

Maintenance 'problem'

Sheila Rainger, acting director of the RAC Foundation, said the figures were "disappointing".

Roads were not always planned with motorcyclists in mind, she said.

"One of the big problems is maintenance - things like pot holes, bad road surfaces and poor quality tarmac," she added.

"For a car, a pot hole can mean damaged suspension or a problem with the tyre.

"A bad patch of tarmac can mean a motorcyclist comes off."

With motorcycling becoming increasingly popular we still have work to do to reduce casualties to the rates seen in the mid-1990s Department for Transport spokesman

A Department for Transport spokesman said the government was committed to improving motorcycle safety and that injuries among motorcyclists had fallen by about 12% since 2000.

"However, with motorcycling becoming increasingly popular we still have work to do to reduce casualties to the rates seen in the mid-1990s," the spokesman added.

"This year we have spent £1.5m - including a high-profile TV and radio campaign - on educating road users about the dangers that motorcyclists face and the need to take more care around motorcycles."

The number of children injured in road accidents has fallen over 10 years from 44,837 in 1996 to 25,523 in 2006.

The number of cyclists injured also fell from 24,584 in 1996 to 16,196 in 2006.